Devil by Sierra Simone

Here is a summary with spoilers for Devil by Sierra Simone

Seven years before the main present-day storyline, Birdie Cooper is a shy, anxious art lecturer at Evelyn College, a Catholic college where she teaches a single art class. Birdie is twenty-nine and has spent most of her life caring for her twin sister, Mary Geraldine “Busy” Cooper. Birdie is also a talented woodcarver who creates religious art, although she lacks confidence in herself and tends to keep to herself. Her closest friend and roommate is Kaitlyn Masterson, who is studying to become a lawyer and is much more structured and practical than Birdie.

One of Birdie’s students is twenty-two-year-old Ryan Bell. He is charismatic, attractive, wealthy, and well-liked, and Birdie initially sees him as a good student and a generally good person. Ryan, however, becomes obsessed with her. He begins leaving fruit on her desk, first apples and eventually pomegranates, with her formal name written on them. Birdie does not know who is leaving them but begins eating them because she enjoys the gesture. Ryan is also secretly watching her and memorizing her habits. The pomegranates become a private ritual between them even though Birdie does not know that Ryan is responsible.

Ryan has deliberately engineered his proximity to Birdie. He had seen her artwork before enrolling at Evelyn and transferred there specifically so that he could get closer to her. Birdie remains unaware of how long he has been watching her or how calculated his interest is. As the semester progresses, Ryan's attraction becomes more direct. On the final day of the semester, when Birdie is alone in her studio, Ryan comes to see her and tells her that he was the one leaving the pomegranates. The conversation turns sexual, and Ryan begins kissing and touching her. Birdie is overwhelmed by what is happening and does not know how to respond.

Birdie and Ryan  are discovered. The encounter is reported to the college as a professor having sex with a student. Birdie is brought before the college authorities and questioned about what happened. She struggles to explain the encounter because she is frightened, confused, and unable to clearly articulate the difference between what Ryan initiated and what she allowed to happen. The college ultimately treats the situation as misconduct on Birdie's part. She loses her position and is expelled from the college community. Kaitlyn also turns against Birdie. Because Kaitlyn has her own career and relationship with the Catholic institution, she is unwilling to risk her future by continuing to live with Birdie. Birdie loses her job, her home, her closest friendship, and her connection to the religious community she had been part of. She returns toward her family's property with very little idea of what she is going to do next.

Birdie's problems with Busy continue at the same time. Busy has never been able to maintain a stable life and depends heavily on Birdie for money and support. Birdie goes to see her at the family lake property, where the sisters argue about what should happen to the property. Busy wants to sell it and believes Birdie will take the money for herself. Birdie insists that she is not planning to do that. Their relationship becomes physical during the argument, with Busy striking Birdie, and Birdie eventually leaves rather than continuing the fight.

Birdie's own family history is also important to her inability to separate herself from Busy. Their father and grandparents have died, and their mother, Amy, struggled with severe mental illness before her death. Birdie has spent years assuming responsibility for Busy because she believes that if she stops taking care of her sister, something terrible will happen. After losing her job and home, Birdie returns to the family property and begins living in increasingly difficult circumstances. Her unfinished artwork is one of the few things she continues to hold onto.

Seven years pass. Birdie is now thirty-six. She is no longer teaching at Evelyn and has largely abandoned religious sculpture. She works nights at a gas station owned by Buddy while taking occasional furniture or carving jobs. She lives at the family property and continues sending money to Busy, who is still struggling and now requires substantial medical and other support. Birdie has very little money for herself and often cannot afford proper medical care.

One of Birdie's injuries becomes particularly serious. She has an infected wound on her leg that she has attempted to treat herself with duct tape because she cannot afford or does not want to seek medical treatment. Her life has narrowed almost completely to working, surviving, and taking care of Busy.

Ryan, meanwhile, has become extremely successful. He is now a wealthy architect with significant influence and a public reputation for civic projects. He has never forgotten Birdie. He has spent the entire seven years looking for her. He eventually discovers a statue of Lucifer outside Kansas City City Hall that Birdie carved in his likeness. The statue has Ryan's face, hair, and recognizable features. Birdie has intentionally placed the statue in public, and Ryan recognizes the work as hers because of a distinctive flaw in the carving. He traces the statue back to her and finally finds her.

Ryan approaches Birdie at her property and tells her that he has been searching for her. Birdie is shocked that he has found her after all these years. Ryan is no longer the twenty-two-year-old student she remembers. He is now wealthy, powerful, and much more capable of controlling the circumstances around them. He also knows almost everything about Birdie's current life, including Busy’s medical and financial problems. He also feels terrible about how things happened and ended with her teaching.

Ryan offers Birdie a deal. He will pay for Busy’s care and continue paying for it for the rest of her life. He will also provide Birdie with a home, transportation, medical care, an art studio, and financial security. In exchange, Birdie will belong to him sexually for one year. The arrangement is explicitly based on his desire to have unrestricted access to her, including sexual activities that Birdie has never experienced.

Ryan tells her that she will have an escape clause: if she genuinely wants the arrangement to end, she can tell him that she is done and leave. However, once she leaves, she cannot return to the arrangement. Birdie is horrified by the proposal but also knows how desperate Busy’s situation has become. She ultimately agrees because she believes sacrificing one year of herself will secure the rest of Busy’s life.

Ryan moves Birdie and her belongings to his renovated warehouse home. He has already prepared an art studio specifically for her, stocked with wood, tools, clay, drafting equipment, and everything she needs to carve again. The studio shows Birdie that Ryan has been preparing for her return long before he actually found her.

Birdie is still nervous about what living with Ryan will mean. She has agreed to the arrangement, but the reality of being in his house and knowing that he now controls almost every part of her life makes her anxious. She is particularly afraid of what will happen once he begins using the sexual access she promised him.

Her injured leg becomes the first major interruption. While Birdie is staying at Ryan's house, the wound begins bleeding badly. Ryan discovers the blood and immediately takes her to the emergency room. The doctors remove the duct tape, discover that the wound is infected, and treat it with antibiotics and stitches. Birdie has to rest while she recovers. During this period, Ryan learns more about Birdie's history with hospitals and her mother's illness. He does not punish her for hiding the injury and instead takes responsibility for getting her medical treatment.

Once Birdie has recovered enough, the sexual part of their arrangement begins. Ryan takes her virginity in her studio and introduces her to sexual experiences that are far outside what she has previously allowed herself to consider. Their arrangement includes consensual boundaries and a phrase Birdie can use to stop him, but Ryan deliberately pushes her into situations that frighten and excite her.

Birdie discovers that she enjoys some of the things she expected to hate. Ryan introduces her to toys and encourages her to acknowledge her own sexual desires. He repeatedly tells her that she does not have to feel guilty for wanting something simply because she was raised to believe that desire was sinful. At the same time, the power imbalance never disappears: Ryan is paying for Busy’s care, controls Birdie's living situation, and is the person who determines how much of the arrangement she experiences.

Ryan does not spend every day with Birdie. He has his own career and civic projects, and there are stretches when he is away working. Birdie becomes increasingly accustomed to waiting for him to return. She begins carving again in the studio and slowly becomes more comfortable with her own body and desires.

Ryan also begins bringing ordinary domestic things into their relationship. He cooks for her, brings her food, buys clothes and other necessities, and eventually they adopt a stray kitten named Lilith. The arrangement starts looking less like a business transaction and more like a household. Birdie begins to experience the stability of having a home, an art studio, someone who cares whether she has eaten, and someone who actively wants her around.

Ryan takes Birdie to meet his family. She meets his brothers, their spouses, and other members of the Bell family. She also spends time with his niece Caro, helping her with drawing. Birdie sees that Ryan is not isolated from his family and that the Bells have a close, affectionate relationship. Ryan's family accepts Birdie and treats her as someone important to him.

Birdie also discovers another side of Ryan. He is working on a civic project involving a shelter and hygiene center intended to provide better services for people who currently have to rely on fragmented charity systems. His public image is built around helping people, and Birdie begins to understand that his desire to control situations is not limited to his relationship with her. He wants to create systems where people cannot be abandoned.

As the weeks pass, Birdie becomes emotionally attached to him. She tells Busy that she is seeing someone but does not give her many details. Birdie is embarrassed by the unusual circumstances of the relationship and is not ready to explain who Ryan is or what their arrangement involves. Despite that, she is happier than she has been in years.

Ryan eventually takes Birdie to a large gala connected to his civic work. The event forces Birdie back into the social world she has been avoiding since Evelyn. She unexpectedly encounters Kaitlyn, her former roommate and friend, as well as Father Jordan Brady, a priest who knew Birdie before the scandal. Seeing people connected to her former life causes Birdie's anxiety to spike.

Father Brady treats Birdie kindly rather than judging her. He tells her that he knows the story reported by Evelyn was incomplete and that he does not believe the official version explains everything that happened. Ryan notices Father Brady comforting Birdie and becomes jealous. Later, Ryan and Birdie talk privately about their histories. Ryan tells her about his sister Lizzy, whose suicide profoundly affected him and contributed to his distrust of institutions and the people who claim to protect others. Birdie tells him more about her own family deaths and the losses that shaped her life.

During this conversation, Ryan tells Birdie that he loves her. A few days later, Birdie is able to tell him that she loves him too.

Ryan becomes concerned about how isolated Birdie is. She has almost no friends outside of him and Busy. Although he wants to be the center of her life, he also recognizes that she needs other relationships. Birdie's isolation is partly the result of what happened at Evelyn and partly the result of spending her entire adult life caring for Busy.

The relationship continues for several more weeks until Birdie discovers something Ryan has been hiding. She finds evidence that he has installed hidden cameras throughout the house. She learns that he has been recording her privately, including footage of her eating the pomegranates he left for her years earlier at Evelyn.

Birdie feels violated by the discovery. She had accepted a highly unconventional sexual arrangement with Ryan, but she had not agreed to secretly being filmed. The cameras make her question how much of their relationship has actually been under her control. Ryan admits that he has been watching and recording her and has also made extensive legal and financial preparations concerning their relationship.

Birdie also discovers a lockbox containing documents and financial arrangements Ryan has established. There are trusts for Birdie and Busy, brokerage accounts, ownership arrangements involving Birdie's property and vehicle, and a nondisclosure agreement. Some of the documents were created or signed without Birdie's knowledge.

Ryan explains that he was trying to protect their future. He had already arranged far more financial security for Birdie and Busy than the original one-year bargain required. Birdie, however, does not see the documents as protection. She sees them as evidence that Ryan has been controlling her life behind her back.

The hidden cameras are the final violation for Birdie. She invokes the escape clause in their agreement and leaves Ryan.

Birdie returns to her family property and reconnects with Busy. Busy is receiving professional treatment and has begun taking more responsibility for her own life rather than depending entirely on Birdie. Busy tells Birdie that she has spent her whole life allowing herself to be rescued and that Birdie has built her identity around being needed. Birdie is forced to confront the fact that without Busy constantly requiring her help, she does not know what she is supposed to do with herself.

Birdie becomes increasingly depressed after leaving Ryan. She goes to the family pond and thinks about her life, her losses, and the fact that she no longer knows where she belongs. A tornado approaches the area. Instead of taking shelter, Birdie remains outside and does not make an effort to save herself. Ryan realizes where she has gone and drives toward the property during the storm. He finds Birdie outside as the tornado approaches. He physically gets her into the house and shields her while the storm passes. The tornado destroys the farmhouse and barn, but Birdie survives.

After the storm, Ryan takes Birdie back with him. The relationship does not simply return to the way it was before she left. Ryan admits that his behavior with the cameras, forged documents, and original arrangement went beyond what Birdie had agreed to. He tells her that he had intended to provide for both sisters even before making the bargain, meaning that the financial security he offered was not actually dependent on Birdie continuing to belong to him.

Ryan also finally tells Birdie the full history of his obsession with her. He had first seen her artwork years before she knew him. He transferred to Evelyn specifically to be around her and engineered his enrollment in her class. His attraction was therefore not something that suddenly developed during their semester together. He had deliberately created the opportunity to become part of her life.

Ryan apologizes for what happened between them at Evelyn. He acknowledges that the original encounter was wrong and that his actions were responsible for the circumstances that destroyed Birdie's career and life there.

Birdie begins working through her relationship with Busy in family therapy and considers individual therapy for herself. Ryan agrees to couples therapy as well. Their relationship begins changing from the original contractual arrangement into something they are consciously renegotiating.

Birdie also returns to her art. She begins working again on the Golgotha sculpture, a representation of Christ's crucifixion. She has difficulty carving Christ until Ryan offers to physically model the crucified figure for her. He allows himself to be placed on a large theatrical cross while Birdie works on the sculpture.

The scene reverses their original relationship with art. At Evelyn, Ryan used Birdie's studio and art as the setting in which he forced his way into her life. Now Ryan places his body under Birdie's control while she decides how to represent him through her art.

Birdie also feeds Ryan pomegranate seeds while he is on the cross. The pomegranates that once represented Ryan secretly watching and selecting her have become something Birdie actively gives to him.

Ryan gives Birdie the financial documents and trusts he established for her and Busy. He removes the nondisclosure agreements and agrees that she should have complete control over her own finances and decisions. He also agrees to couples counseling and supports Birdie's individual therapy and her continued relationships with other people.

Birdie begins teaching art workshops outside the college system. She is able to use her artistic ability to help other people without returning to the institution that expelled her. She continues carving religious artwork and finishes the Golgotha project.

Birdie and Ryan also renegotiate their sexual relationship. The original arrangement had been based on a one-year contract and a single escape clause. Their new relationship uses explicit boundaries, stop words, and mutual agreement rather than the financial contract as the basis for their sexual relationship.

Birdie ultimately chooses to remain with Ryan. The original one-year bargain no longer determines their relationship. Ryan has provided the financial security he promised, but Birdie is no longer staying because Busy’s medical care depends on her continuing to submit to the arrangement. She stays because she wants Ryan and the life they have created together.

The epilogue takes place after Birdie and Ryan have married. Birdie has sold the ruined family property and is living with Ryan. She has returned fully to her art and is teaching smaller community-based art classes. Busy is receiving ongoing treatment and has become more independent.

Birdie's religious sculptures are now displayed in Father Brady's church. The Christ figure she carved for the Golgotha tableau is modeled after Ryan. Ryan continues his public career and civic work while Birdie maintains her own artistic life.

At the wedding reception, Birdie and Ryan are surrounded by members of the Bell family and the people who have become part of their lives. Their relationship is no longer governed by the original contract. They are married, and Birdie has her own work, relationships, finances, and choices outside of Ryan.

Later, Ryan and Birdie leave the reception area and return to their private sexual relationship among the religious artwork. The pomegranate imagery returns as part of their relationship, but now Birdie is an active participant rather than someone unknowingly receiving gifts from a person secretly watching her.